


The Death Of Vibe Reloaded

by butzichen



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Original Team Flash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-03
Packaged: 2019-08-17 01:11:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16506377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butzichen/pseuds/butzichen
Summary: A more OTF centric rewrite of the Season 5 Episode 3 " the death of Vibe"Barry acknowledges Cisco's pain and finally finds out what's been going on with Caitlin





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Though Season 5 has had it’s up and downs so far, I think everyone can agree that “the death of Vibe” was an episode with a lot of wasted potential. So I decided to rewrite the episode. I tried to stick as close to it as possible, but making it more OTF centric. Though every time I wrote about just Barry and Caitlin, I had to fight, so the Snowbarry scene wouldn't get away from me ;)  
> Because I teamed Barry with Caitlin, I kind of had to reduce Nora’s development, since I had to change the timing of the talks, but I hope it still makes sense and comes together realistically.
> 
> I drew inspiration from a lot of comments I read online on this episode, but since it's impossible to credit everyone, I just want to give a shout out to the whole Snowbarry and Snowbarrisco community. The ratings are down, so let's not give up hope :)
> 
> One last thing: I don't own any rights of the Flash! I tried to quote the episode as correctly as possible, but I'm sure I misheard a few things, so I don't mind if you point it out to me :)

“As a kid, there was a part of the Flash museum that always scared me,” Nora recalls her visits, “I guess it’s normal for children to be afraid of monsters. But this monster was different… No one knows where he came from, how he got his powers, who he is. All that’s known is his alias and the last sound his victims hear. But that’s not what makes him scary… What makes him scary is... you never catch him.” 

 

“We never catch him?” Barry asks taken aback. They had come up against a lot of villains but always caught them in the end. If they never caught this Cicada, what were they going to do? “Supergirl, the Legends, even the League tried, but no one was successful,” Nora goes on. “Probably because he can dampen everybody’s powers with that magic freaking dagger,” Ralph points out. “Not all superheroes are metahumans though,” Caitlin offers some hope, making Barry feel better for a second, “what about…” But she is interrupted by Nora. “Green Arrow? Yeah, he tried too, once, but…” Barry looks down disappointed. “So, we’re dealing with a metahuman Jack the Ripper,” Cisco scoffs, “amazing.” “What else do you know about him?” Iris asks Nora. “Just that…” she explains softly, “…he’s early.”

“What do you mean, he’s early,” Barry wants to know. “In my history, Cicada’s first victim was a metahuman named Floyd Balken and he never killed Gridlock or Block, they’re completely different victims…” “Because the timeline changed,” Barry sighs. “Yeah, and now they’re both dead,” Nora looks down, her voice quivering, “because of me.” Nora’s explanations are sending Barry reeling, he had let her stay here and already the timeline is changing drastically. Is he making another mistake letting her stay here this long? Sighing, he takes action. 

“Okay, there is no telling the ripple effect of this change or what kind of future Nora is going to return to,“ he looks at his team, “we need to catch this guy, fast.” “You mean catch the guy that future us can’t catch?” Cisco states drily. Barry looks at him worried, though Cicada did seem like a threatening foe, Cisco’s reactions don’t feel like himself. Cisco has been so down lately. Barry knows that his breakup put him through a lot, but earlier Caitlin had made it seem like she was handling it, helping Cisco through it, but he still seemed so off.  
“…CCPD needs help downtown” Caitlin’s words pull him from his thoughts. He sighs. “Okay.” He needs to deal with this first, then Cisco, then Cicada and Nora, … “I’ll do it,” Ralph offers. “You sure?” Barry asks, relieved to have one thing cleared from his plate. “Yeah, I got it, you guys stay here and deal with the meta serial killer.” Barry nods at him grateful before turning back to his team. “Okay guys,” Iris starts, “we got this. Let’s just canvas some crime scenes, interview some witnesses, see if there are any common acquaintances between Gridlock and Block.” The team looks at her unconvinced.

“I have a plan,” Nora announces suddenly. Barry turns to her, before Iris’s words pull back his attention. “You’ve got a plan, already?” Did she just sound jealous of her daughter? Pushing this thought out of his mind, Barry refocuses his attention on Nora, who declares. “I know how to fix this.”

 

Later that evening, Cisco’s sitting alone on the couch in his apartment watching some TV, still feeling miserable. Though Caitlin and Ralph’s attempts to help him get over Gypsy have helped a little, his feelings aren’t going to disappear overnight. Sighing, he switches channels, taking another sip of his beer, when a knock on his door interrupts him. Groaning he gets up to open the door.

“Hey Cisco”, he is greeted by Barry standing in his doorway, holding out a pizza. “What are you doing here, Barry?” Cisco wonders, but steps aside to let him in. “Checking up on you,” Barry explains focusing his attention on his friend. ”I’m fine,” Cisco replies, sitting back down on his couch. “Except you’re not” Barry simply states, sitting down next to him. Cisco just looks at him, eyebrows raised, his face clearly saying since when do you care. Getting the message, Barry sighs. “Look, I’m sorry Cisco, I know how hard your breakup with Cynthia shook you and I should have checked up on you sooner. This whole Nora thing really threw me for a loop and it’s been difficult finding any time when she’s not around. But today you didn’t just seem sad, you seemed so off, and Caitlin made it seem like she and Ralph had it under control, so I thought I had time to deal with Nora and Block and Cicada first, but I guess I should have checked in with you sooner and I am sorry. I know these last few days it hasn’t seemed that way, but I am here for you.”  
Seeing Barry’s earnest expression, Cisco gives in. “It’s alright Barry, I know you have a lot on your plate.” “So, are we okay?”, Barry inquires carefully. “Yeah, we’re okay,” Cisco nods, taking a slice of pizza and handing Barry a beer. Knowing that his best friend cares, already eases some of his pain.

 

 

The next morning, they assemble in the Speed lab to contact Harrison Well, well one of the Wells. Though Barry approves of Nora’s idea to try something new and bring in the help of a Wells, Cisco still clearly dislikes the idea. But feeling like he owes his daughter the chance to make up for her mistakes, they call him anyway. 

Dumbfounded Cisco watches as Herr Wells sucks up to Barry, praises Nora and even postulates that Iris is smart. Feeling like he stepped into an alternate dimension, Cisco tries to intervene and reason with them, staring at Iris blushing and twirling at Well’s words, before giving up. Though this Wells can’t help them, he has called someone else to help them out.  
“Cisco!” Iris commands, wanting him to open a breach. “Cisco, what?” he asks annoyed at her tone and their behavior, completely forgetting that he had been hurt. Sighing, he goes to get their breach device, trying to ignore Wells’ goodbyes. “Always an honor to help the Flash and Kid Flash,“ pointing to Nora (wait wasn’t that Wally’s name?), “and Iris Flash.” Cringing on the inside, Cisco returns with the device. “What are you talking about man, he’s awesome,” Barry states. “He’s not…” Cisco replies annoyed, pinching his forehead, sometimes his friend could be so blind. Sighing he drops it and opens a breach for Harrison Sherloque Wells, the greatest detective in the multiverse, apparently.

 

Sitting in the Starlabs lounge, Iris, Nora, Barry, Caitlin and Cisco watch Sherloque prepare something… tea as it turns out. “Tea?” Caitlin asks taken aback. “That’s right.” Sherloque replies matter-of-factly “We’ve been watching you for twenty minutes,“ Caitlin states incredulous. Cisco cuts in, trying to get Sherloque to focus on their problem, but he just interrupts him, deducing Cisco’s heartbreak simply by analyzing him.  
Amazed Barry stares at Sherloque, he had his doubts about this Wells, but he is spot on, Cisco had been drinking a lot of alcohol last night, with him actually, and there had definitely been some crying. Feeling sorry for Cisco, Barry lets him walk off, knowing that he needs some time of his own. Resting one hand on the chair next to him, shortly wondering why Caitlin’s standing so far away from him, Barry watches Sherloque deduce that he is a speedster as well as Nora, before getting to Iris and accusing her of hiding something from him.  
“Excuse me, I’m not hiding anything,” Iris scoffs, in a way that makes Barry suspicious. Sherloque goes on, before deducing. “…a tattoo, right? Yes. Perhaps from a former lover…” “Okay, ehm, “ Iris interrupts him quickly trying to change the subject. Taken aback, Barry looks at her, realizing that she had a tattoo connected to Eddie. He awkwardly tries to hide his face in his hands, looking down at the table, not wanting to think about what this means for them. 

 

They then agree that Sherloque can help them find Cicada before he brings up the question of his fee. “I’m sorry, you’re charging us?” Nora demands incredulously. “This service is not free, right,” Sherloque simply states,” I don’t work for charity. And I can already tell that the young doctor here is expecting to hire me for another case with that missing person…” Barry looks up at Caitlin surprised, having no idea what Sherloque is talking about. But she just shakes her head at him. 

He focuses his attention back on Sherloque and his substantial fee, that he just wrote down on a piece of paper for Barry. Aghast Barry shows it to the others. “We could sell off some of the Starlabs’ stock?” Barry ventures looking over at Iris, who just looks at him… annoyed? He isn’t sure how to place her expression. But with her not having an income, they are already living in an expensive apartment off of one salary, his salary, so this decision should come down to him, anyway. He owns Starlabs after all, even if it never felt like his… so he looks over at Caitlin. “What do you think?” he wants to know. “It’s your money, Barry,” she replies softly. “Yeah, but it’s our Starlabs,” he points out. She smiles at him. “I don’t know if selling shares is such a good idea, but Starlabs still owns a lot of real estate, which we don’t use, maybe we could sell some of that off?” she suggests. Barry nods as Sherloque exclaims “Yes, we have an agreement!” and shakes Barry’s hand.

“Alright, let’s go find Cicada!” Sherloque shouts. Barry looks over at Caitlin, still thrown by Sherloque’s comment from before. Deciding that he needs to find time now before life gets in the way again, he speaks up. “Actually, Caitlin could I talk to you for a moment.” Surprised she looks at him. “Me? Ehm, yes, sure.” She walks out into the hallway. “I’ll catch up with you guys soon,“ Barry tells Iris and Nora, ignoring Iris’ angry stares and following Caitlin outside.

 

Once he catches up with Caitlin, he flashes both of them on the roof. “Barry, what’s going on? Why did you bring us up here?” she wants to know. “No reason, I just wanted to talk to you somewhere where we wouldn’t be interrupted,” he explains. “Okay,” she says tentatively, still unsure what this is all about. “Cait, what did Sherloque mean, when he said you would want to hire him for a case?” Barry wants to know. “It’s nothing really.” She shakes her head. “Cait?” Barry looks at her, eyebrows raised. “Look you have enough to deal with, don’t worry about it,” Caitlin shrugs. 

Barry is a little taken aback, that she doesn’t want to let him in. “Seriously, what’s going on with you?” he insists. Caitlin looks at him, considering her options. She used to think that she could always rely on Barry, but lately, she had realized the hard way that that just wasn’t true. Did she really want to be vulnerable with him again, just to be dropped the moment something else comes up? “Barry, I can handle this, Ralph and Cisco are already helping me, stop worrying about it, you already have Nora and Iris and Cicada to worry about,” she finally utters. Barry just looks at her, starting to really worry now. Why would she want to keep something from him, why doesn’t she want his help?

“Cait, are you mad at me or something?” he wonders softly. “No, Barry, of course not,” she denies truthfully, but seeing his earnest expression, she can’t help but add slowly, “I guess I just learned to rely on myself.” “And on Cisco? And Ralph?” Barry wonders. She nods. “I guess.” “But not me…” he realizes sadly. “I…” Caitlin starts, but stops, unsure what to say. He is right after all. Still, the hurt in his eyes is piercing her, wanting her to assure him that she did rely on him, yet she can’t lie to him. Looking at Caitlin, seeing the truth written across her face, sends Barry’s thoughts reeling. How had they come to this? 

Caitlin is about to turn around when Barry speaks up again. “I’m sorry, Cait…. You’re right, you haven’t been able to rely on me. I wasn’t there for you when Killer Frost took over and I wasn’t there for you when you lost her.” “Barry, you were dealing with Savitar, then Devoe, you went to prison, the enlightenment, now Nora and Cicada, … you have other priorities and I understand that. As I said, I’m not mad, I just learned to rely on myself,” she tries to assuage his guilt. Barry shakes his head, did she really feel she wasn’t a priority? Grabbing a hold of her shoulders, he looks into her eyes. “No, those aren’t excuses. I have been a bad friend to you. You shouldn’t feel like you’re not a priority to me. I truly am sorry. This is important to you, right?” She just nods. “Then it’s important to me, too.” He insists. “Why?” she can’t help but wonder in a small voice. “Because you are important to me,” he says firmly. Moved by his words, she can’t help but return his smile. 

 

“So, will you tell me what’s going on now?” Barry inquires, before letting go off her shoulders. Nodding, Caitlin sits down on a small wall, as Barry joins her. “Remember when we were training for Flash Time and something pulled my focus?” she starts. Barry nods, surprised and feeling guilty by how long he has been out of the loop. “I actually remembered something from my childhood, so I asked Cisco to vibe it,” she continues, ”and I found out that Killer Frost was already a part of me when I was little.” Barry looks at her stunned. “Wow, that’s a big deal. How is that even possible?” And how didn’t I know about this, he thinks to himself.  
“I don’t know, the only clue I have is that my father knew, he was there when I turned into her. And now Ralph has found out that the medical examiner who signed his death certificate doesn’t exist. So Cisco vibed it…” she swallows, it is still hard to talk about all of this. Barry keeps staring at her, eyes round, completely taken aback by how much he had missed. “and we found out that my mother forged it. So maybe…” she stops, her voice catching. “Your father is still alive.” Barry finishes for her, putting a hand on her knee, trying to comfort her. She nods, sniveling a little. “I don’t know what this means, if he’s alive, if he faked his death, why he did it, why he didn’t want to see me, …” Barry’s heart is breaking, realizing what she has been going through, with him completely clueless. “I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I had no idea, but this time I won’t let you go through this alone, I’ll be by your side every step of the way until we figure this out, I promise, “ Barry vows, pulling Caitlin in for a hug. “Thanks, Barry,” she whispers, relieved that she let him in after all.

 

“So do you have a plan?” he asks a little later. “Yeah, I thought I might drive up and confront my mother,” she nods. “I’ll come with you” Barry assures her. “What about Cicada?” she wonders. “Right,” Barry admits, he had actually forgotten about him for a minute, “well let’s just go see what this Sherloque found out by now, so I can deal with this and then I’ll come with you.” “You don’t have to, Barry, I can manage on my own,” she replies gently. Barry shakes his head smiling. “The amount of time you would waste driving up there, we can use to deal with Cicada and then I’ll speed us there later, okay?” Caitlin nods, he is right, his speed will save her hours of driving and she certainly doesn’t mind the company.


	2. Chapter 2

When they come back to the cortex, they find Sherloque explaining his psychological profile leading him to be certain that Cicada is a man named David Hersh. “Nora’s plan might actually work,” Iris says a little condescendingly. Annoyed, Nora utters, “it will work” and rushes off. Sighing Barry suits up and follows her to the address.

“Once you’re inside, you’ll find a small boobytrap,“ Sherloque instructs them over the comms. “Found it,” Barry states, approaching it carefully, but Nora just rushes in. “I’m on it” and starts to dismantle the trap. Proud, she looks at Barry, who hears Sherloque’s voice. “Here comes the critical part, it’s just a decoy.” Alarmed, Barry registers the bombs sprouting from the floor and about to explode near Nora. Quickly he runs towards her, grabbing her and throwing themselves out the window. As they land on the ground, explosions go off inside. “Sorry, I got caught off guard,” Nora mumbles. But getting up, Barry spots Hersh making a run for it, so he quickly runs after him, stopping him with a punch. As Hersh falls to the ground, Barry can’t help comment. “Not so tough without your dagger, eh?” Turning him around, he smiles at Nora. “We got him!” he informs the others through the comms.

 

After securing Hersh, Barry walks up to Nora. “I’m sorry about before Dad,” she starts right away, correctly reading his expression. “I just wanted to help and now I can add another mistake to my list,” she says dejectedly. “Hey, it’s okay, Nora,” he comforts her, his anger vaporizing, “I understand how you feel, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, too, believe me. Sometimes our powers are so extraordinary, it makes our mistakes feel amplified.” “I just never messed up so badly and I wanted to fix it, to catch Cicada…” she tries to explain. “And we did, but Nora, if every time you make a mistake, you just rush in to fix things, you’re only going to make things worse, trust me I know that better than anyone. You just got to have a little more patience… take a moment… think before you act and fix the problem the right way,” Barry advises her. “Okay,” Nora agrees nodding.

“So I have to go take care of something, “Barry starts, “do you think you can handle bringing Hersh in and following up on the evidence?” Nora nods enthusiastically. “For sure!” “No rushing, promise?” Barry insists. “Promise!”

 

Barry speeds back to Starlabs, finding Caitlin and Cisco. “Ready to go?” he asks Caitlin, who nods. “Where are you going?” Cisco wonders surprised. “Barry has offered to take me to my mother, I need to confront her about the death certificate,” Caitlin explains. Cisco nods, positively surprised that Barry finally knows what’s going on with their friend. “Do you want me to come?” he offers. “Actually, if Caitlin doesn’t mind, I wanted to ask you if you could keep an eye on Nora,” Barry tells Cisco. “I left her in charge of bringing Hersh in and following up with the evidence, so maybe if you could go to CCPD and check in on her. I know she means well, but sometimes she can be hasty and make mistakes.” “Sure thing, man. But why don’t you ask Joe or Iris?” Cisco wonders. “Joe is taking the afternoon off to be with Cecile and Jenna and I don’t want to bother him, now that we caught Cicada,” Barry explains, “and I don’t think Nora would react well to Iris supervising her. But she likes you.” Barry smiles at his friend, who still seems so sad, but is slowly finding his way back to himself, happy to have a task that keeps his mind off of Cynthia. As Cisco breaches to CCPD, Barry takes Caitlin in his arms and flashes them to Tannhauser Industries.

 

“Mom, I know this sounds crazy,” Caitlin starts, sitting opposite her mother in her office, “but we think someone forged dad’s death certificate.” Her mother just shrugs indifferently, asking. “Do you have any proof?” “No,” Caitlin starts, feeling small in her mother’s presence, but even though Barry is just standing in the background, giving her some space, his presence steels her resolve, “well, yes sort of. It’s complicated. But I just thought you should know.” She looks at her mother, observing her, trying to read her reaction to this news.  
“Unless I already knew that,” her mother replies slightly accusingly. “I didn’t say that,” Caitlin responds. Her mother chuckles, taking off her glasses. “It’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Caitlin just shakes her head sighing, while her mother continues. “If this is some elaborate possibly nefarious cover-up, it must be Mom’s doing,” Dr. Tannhauser accuses her, “it’s not like she ever had your best interests at heart.” “You always do this,” Caitlin tries to remain calm, not believing how coldly her mother is reacting, though she should have known, really, “I just want to know the truth. I think I deserve to know that.” 

Though Caitlin has told Barry how cold her mother can be, he never thought she could act so nonchalantly towards the death or possible not-death of her husband. A part of him wants to move close to Caitlin, but he stays back, wanting to give them space for now. He had already gotten some dirty looks from her mother when they had walked in, so he just watches Caitlin take a deep breath and ask the question, she’s burning and dreading to ask. “Is … is my father even really ...” But Dr. Tannhauser interrupts her. “Caitlin, your father is dead and if you care about my feelings at all, you’ll just let this be.” Caitlin sighs, giving up. “Thanks, Mom, pleasure as always,” she states resigned, but as she moves to take the death certificate from the desk, her mother stops her.  
“Don’t become obsessed with the past. Your father had this flaw and it nearly led to his ruin… even before his death,” her mother looks at her intensely for another second before getting up, “I trust you know the way out.” She then walks out of her office, leaving Caitlin sitting there disappointed.

Getting up, Caitlin moves next to Barry. “I’m sorry we came all this way for no reason,” she says softly. “Hey, it’s okay, you’re sure you’re alright?” Barry wonders putting one hand on her arm. She nods. “Yeah, I mean, clearly she’s lying, I know she forged the death certificate, but she’s never going to tell us why,” sighing Caitlin turns towards Barry, “I guess we’ve hit a dead end.” “You know,” Barry ventures slowly, “whenever Joe hits a dead end, he relies on me to find forensic evidence to point him in a new direction.” “Where are we going to find forensic evidence, Barry?” Caitlin asks defeated. “You tell me,” Barry smiles at her encouragingly, “where does your mother keep important files and so on?” Caitlin smiles back. “I think I just know the place.”

 

Joe is sitting at home at the table reading when he hears the sound of breathing behind him. Familiar with the sound, he turns around slowly to find Cicada standing in his living room…

 

“What’s going on?” Cisco asks Nora who’s pacing up and down Barry’s lab. “I don’t think David Hersh is Cicada,” she whispers, afraid that if she says it out loud it’s going to be true. “I thought forensics found evidence linking him to several antigovernment bombing.” “Yes, but no sign of his dagger or his mask,” Nora admits, “I know Sherloque is sure it’s him and he is the best detective in the multiverse and David Hersh is a mass murder…” “But?” Cisco asks. “But,” Nora goes on, “my dad told me to follow the evidence and the evidence doesn’t lead to Cicada.” She sighs. “What am I supposed to do, Cisco? What if I was wrong again, I keep making mistakes and I don’t know how to fix this.” Cisco smiles at her, finding Barry’s daughter quite endearing, she reminds him of Barry when they met, so full of energy and optimism, but also shouldering so much responsibility. “Look, Nora, I have been with Barry for five years now, I’ve watched him learn and grow, but also struggle and make a hell of a lot of mistakes, trust me, you’re doing fine. Sometimes the answers don’t lie in using your speed, but your smarts. If Barry told you to follow the evidence, let’s follow it.” “You’re right, Uncle Cisco,” Nora says enthusiastically again. “Yeah let’s leave out the uncle thing, just call me Cisco, would you,” he groans. “Sure thing, U... Cisco,” Nora grins as she gets to work on the evidence.

 

“Detective Joseph West,” Cicada snarls in a dark voice. “What do you want?” Joe demands, trying to stay calm, knowing Cecile and Jenna are upstairs. “To finish what I started…” When Joe shrugs, the man in the hood and mask continues, “a metahuman called Vibe…call him here…now!” “Can’t, I don’t even know him,” Joe responds calmly. Cicada just approaches threateningly, throwing down some newspaper articles on the table. In all of them, pictures of Vibe…and Joe in the background. “You were saying?” he snarls. “Yes,” Joe backtracks, “I mean he helps CCPD…but it’s not like I have a Vibe phone, so I can just call him up. He’s just a masked do-gooder who shows up at crime scenes.” Lifting his dagger slowly, gripping it tightly, Cicada threatens. “This could be a crime scene…” Before taking a swing at Joe…

 

Nora and Cisco find Sherloque in the lounge as he is preparing himself a drink to toast to their successful arrest of Cicada. “There you are,” he exclaims, handing them a drink. “Hersh isn’t Cicada,” Nora blurts out. Stunned Wells nearly spits out his drink. “We checked Cicada’s boot prints from both the Block and Gridlock crime scenes and it’s three sizes larger than Hersh’s. He’s not even a meta. It’s not him,” she explains. “Of course it’s him,” Sherloque replies, ”it’s always Hersh. Every time I catch Cicada, it’s always the same man.” Cisco looks at him taken aback. “Wait a minute, you’ve caught this guy before?” he inquires. Sherloque nods. “thirty-seven times, I’ve caught thirty-seven Cicadas on thirty -seven different earths and every time I’ve tried to capture him, the trail always leads back to that earth’s David Hersh.”  
“So, this psychological profile that you created,” Cisco accuses him, “you just made it up!” “Ehm, not the first time,” Sherloque responds, “nor the next thirty-six, then I wanted to impress the client and skip to the end.” “Here I thought, you were just a bad detective,” Cisco exclaims indignantly, “but you’re not a bad detective, you’re just a lazy one.” “Ferme ta bouche,” Sherloque snaps back, “I’m not a lazy one, I’m an efficient one, right. But that is not the point, the point is, that there is simply no reason why the Cicada of this earth would be anyone other than David Hersh.”

Nora sighs. “Except that by coming here, I have changed the timeline…” Sherloque throws up his arms in exasperation. “Why do you not tell me this? How do you expect me to operate if you don’t give me all the variables?” “I don’t know” Cisco replies coldly, “but what we can expect is a refund.” “Oh no, that money is long gone,” Sherloque chuckles. “What do you mean,” Cisco stammers, “you spent all of that money in one day? On what?” “My ex-wife. Ex-wives. Seven marriages. Five wives. Lots of alimony,” Sherloque elaborates, “but that is not the point, the point is simply, that this is not my fault. It’s her fault” pointing at Nora and mumbling something about timeline variables before walking out. 

“He’s right,” she admits,” it is all my fault.” “Don’t worry, we’ll find Cicada,” Cisco assures her. “You mean, you guys will find him, you will fix my mistake… again,” she sighs. “Hey, that’s not true, you came up with the idea to bring in a Wells, granted it didn’t go as planned, but it was still a good idea,“ Cisco comforts her, “and look at what you did today, you didn’t just blindly trust Sherloque that Hersh was Cicada, you thought for yourself, you took some time and you followed the evidence. I’m sure, Barry will be proud.” “Do you really think so?” Nora lights up. “I know so,” Cisco says firmly, “Look, I’ll text Barry, you go find Sherloque, maybe he can still help us after all.”

 

Joe wakes up, tied to a chair in his living room, Cicada still standing in front of him, looking at a picture of Barry and Iris’s wedding. “You have a lovely family, detective West,” he breathes heavily, “by not giving me what I want, by putting your life in danger, you’re gambling their future with you. If you knew what I know, you’d cherish them more.” Joe shakes his head. “I’m not luring Vibe into a death trap, you can threaten me all you want, I’m not afraid.” “I believe you… but you should be,” Cicada points out as he lifts his dagger sending red beams of electricity into Joe. Joe groans in pain but doesn’t give in….

 

“Are we really breaking and entering into my mother’s company files?” Caitlin asks as they creep down the dark hallway. “This was your idea,” Barry whispers back, “you said she would keep important information here.” “She would,“ Caitlin replies convinced. At that moment Barry’s phone vibrates. “Hersh isn’t Cicada,” he announces defeated after reading Cisco’s text. “I’m sorry, Barry,” Caitlin replies, “do you want to go home.” “No, there is nothing I can do about it right now, let’s finish what we came here for,” he declares calmly, as Caitlin tries the door to the files room.  
“Locked,” she sighs, “it’s times like these when I miss Killer Frost.” Grinning, Barry replies. “Good thing you still have the Flash.” And he starts phasing through the door. “Ouch, ouch, ouch!” Caitlin hears Barry swearing from the other side. “What’s going on?” she asks worriedly. “Lasers,” Barry replies groaning in pain, “so many lasers.” Panicking a little, Caitlin starts typing in random combinations to unlock the door, before giving her birthday a shot. Smiling, she realizes that it is the right one. Opening the door, she walks up to Barry who’s lying on the floor with holes burnt in his clothes. “Are you okay?” she demands, helping him get up. “Yes, I’m fine…” he replies, swatting the dirt from his clothes, “what is your mother hiding in here? So many different kinds of lasers, I thought I was breaking into Argus again.” He grumbles as they start searching. 

“Look for the name Thomas Snow, “ Caitlin instructs him, as they go through the files. After a while, Barry calls out. “I think I’ve found something.” Caitlin comes over and takes the file from him. As she flips through the pages, a smile appears on her face. “What is it?” Barry wonders. “It’s a game my dad and I used to play, “Caitlin explains, unfolding a page with the periodic table on it, “he would teach me the periodic table, but he would let me make up my own fictional compounds and elements.” Barry smiles, seeing her light up when she talks about her dad. “We used to have so much fun together, catching bugs in the backyard, looking at constellations through the telescope we built… he taught me so much about science and life.” They smile sadly at each other, knowing exactly what it is like to lose a loving father. 

Sighing Barry goes back to look through the files when he comes across a letter. “Maybe he still has something left to teach you,” Barry offers, handing her the letter addressed to ‘my darling Caitlin’. She opens it eagerly and starts reading before her face falls a little. “What is it,” Barry asks carefully. “It’s a letter from my dad…saying goodbye,” she looks up at Barry, pain in her eyes, “it’s a suicide note.” “I’m so sorry, Caitlin,” Barry whispers pulling her into a hug. After holding on to him for a while, Caitlin finally whispers. “It’s okay, at least I can get some closure now. I finally know the truth and that means everything.” Barry nods, understanding how searching for answers can wear you down. “Thank you for coming with me,” Caitlin murmurs, stepping back, wiping away some tears. “Always,” Barry smiles at her.


	3. Chapter 3

“Cisco?” Nora calls from the pipeline. He walks in to find her standing in front of a pile of dust, in the middle Sherloque's hat. “He must have been at the wrong place when this fusion cell went critical, I think it wasn’t placed in its cradle properly and now he’s been vaporized into ash…” she swallows.  
“Shenanigans!” Cisco exclaims,” I call shenanigans. You see these cells right here, they run in a redundant cascade circle, that’s how they power the pipeline in the first place, so if one of them blew, they all would have blown.” Sitting down, he dips his licorice the in the ash, before eating it. Still unconvinced, Nora gulps a little. Tasting the powder, Cisco concludes that it is just tea leaves. “Nora, be a dear and check the building for a weasel in a pork pie hat about yea tall, smells vaguely of poutine.” Nora nods, flashing away and coming back a second later with Sherloque. 

“Uh, tell me, who died?” Sherloque asks all innocently. “I found him with this” Nora announces, tossing Cisco the breaching device. “Of course, you did, so you thought you could just leave to another earth without paying us back?” Cisco questions him. “Worked on my fourth wife,” he scoffs, “and my sixth…same woman.” “Maybe I should tell you about a place called debtor's prison,” Cisco frowns before pulling Sherloque along, “come with me.” “Come with me,” Sherloque replies, warping his arm around Cisco’s shoulders. “I am taking you!” Cisco exclaims exasperated. Nora looks at them go, glad that she isn’t also responsible for Sherloque’s death.

 

Cecile wakes up with a jolt, she’s lying on the bed, taking a nap while Jenna’s asleep. In her gut, she just knows that something is terribly wrong. Trying to calm her scared breathing, she silently gets up. In the living room, Cicada is still hurting Joe. Joe groans as he receives electric shock after shock from Cicada’s dagger. “All this and not even a scream,” Cicada snarls, “You’ve experienced pain before.” Joe just stares at him, knowing that Cecile and Jenna are upstairs, keeps him quiet, he is going to protect his family, no matter what. 

Cecile is slowly descending the stairs, trying to avoid a single sound. “But not more pain than me,” Cicada goes on with his back to the hallway, as Cecile hides behind the wall in there. Joe spots her, his heart racing, what if Cicada sees her, too. He witnesses as Cecile slowly takes her phone, ready to press the alarm button. Joe stares at her intently, trying to communicate his thoughts. “No Cecile, don’t. That’s what he wants.” She hesitates, as Cicada turns to Joe, clutching Jenna’s blanket. “I didn’t want to do this, not to a family man…but I will! Time to make a decision, detective West,“ he lifts his dagger, ”while there is still some of you left.” 

But just as he is about to plunge the dagger into Joe, Jenna starts crying upstairs. Cicada turns around and spots Cecile, forcing her hand. She quickly presses the distress signal, knowing that all of their lives are in immediate danger. Under Joe’s protests, Cicada closes in on Cecile, who’s trying to get away, but her foot catches on the steps of the stairs, making her fall down…

 

Cisco is in his workshop working on his tech, when the alarm on his phone goes off, without hesitating, he grabs his gear.

Just as Barry and Caitlin are about to leave the building, the alarm on his phone goes off. He quickly pulls Caitlin in his arms, speeding back to Central City. Arriving at Starlabs, he grabs his suit and is off without missing a beat. Caitlin slides behind the console, as Nora and Sherloque walk into the cortex.

Cecile turns around slowly, too petrified to move. Cicada looks at his dagger before lifting it slowly. At that moment, a breach opens up and Vibe jumps through. Cicada stares at him, eyes wide, and before Cisco can make another move, Cicada tackles him and together they are sent flying back through the breach. The Flash arrives the moment the breach closes, looking around, seeing Cecile on the stairs, Joe tied to a chair. Cecile keeps shaking her head, not believing what just happened. “He took Cisco!”

 

After a second of dread has passed through Barry, he jumps back into action. “Cicada took Cisco!” he shouts into the comms. “What do you mean, took him? Took him where?” he hears Catlin’s terrified voice. “I don’t know, they jumped through a breach, right when I got here” the Flash explains. “But a breach can take them anywhere,” Nora points out, looking at Caitlin. Caitlin takes a deep breath, trying to swallow the panic rising inside her, as she turns back to the console.

“Cisco? Cisco, can you hear me?” she demands. As they hear Cisco’s voice ring through the comms, relief sweeps across Caitlin, as well as Barry, back at Joe’s. “Hey guys, “Cisco yells panting heavily, as he runs through the woods “can you hear me?” “Cisco, where are you?” Caitlin inquires trying to keep her voice steady. Cisco jumps over some tree trunks, hiding behind a big one, looking around frantically. “I don’t know, my breach foot stalled and spat us out in the forest somewhere.” “Can you breach out?” Barry demands. Cisco raises his arm and tries to breach, he groans from the effort, his hand starts to tremble, but nothing happens. “It’s not working,” he pants.

Suddenly, Cicada’s dagger comes flying through the air, hitting the tree, just inches from Cisco’s head. Looking around Vibe spots the villain and starts running away again. Hearing Cicada’s breathing through the comms, Nora says urgently. “Cicada is dampening his powers.” “Barry, without a satellite, I can’t pinpoint his location,” Caitlin’s desperate voice rings in his ears, “there are too many acres of woods.” “Okay, Blackforest is closest, I’ll start there,” Barry tries to reassure her as he rushes off but aware that finding Cisco on time is a long shot.

As Nora voices the same concern, Sherloque cuts in. “Well before you give up, what kind of trees?” Understanding what Sherloque is up to, Caitlin turns back to the comms. “Cisco? What kind of trees are there?” “I don’t know,” he spits out trying to run as fast as he can, “I’m in a forest.” “What kind of trees, little one?” Wells insists. “Pine trees,” Cisco starts, as Sherloque nods, “I think… Some of them have pointy leaves.” “Pointy,” Sherloque mutters, looking up, “ah, Ash trees.”  
“Right, now I need you to hold your breath,” he instructs Cisco. “What? Why?” Cisco asks breathing heavily as he hides behind another tree. “Because I need to hear the forest…so shhh” Sherloque explains. Shaking his head but desperate for any help, Cisco holds his breath. Starlabs is filled with the noise of the forest. Sherloque listens intently before saying. “Crickets, field crickets, they live in the soil…anyway.” Turning to Caitlin, he instructs. “Cross-reference field crickets with high concentrations of ash and pine trees in an open field…” Caitlin starts typing away on the computer, “and you have?” “Collin woods,” Caitlin utters, a hint of hope in her voice. “On my way,” Barry speeds off to the indicated wood.

 

At that moment Cicada’s dagger pierces itself into Cisco’s shoulder blade, gasping loudly, he is pulled backwards toward Cicada, who then throws him forcefully on the ground. Gasping Caitlin and Nora listen to Cisco’s pain, as the Flash arrives on the scene. But the moment he does, his speed is gone, dampened by Cicada’s dagger, which he holds high for the Flash to see, before putting it away.  
Worry for Cisco taking over, Barry attacks Cicada, trying to punch him. Only for the villain to catch the fist in his hand and punch Barry in return.  
Nora is listening to Barry’s groans, the sound of Cicada’s punches hitting him, Caitlin shouting his name, a desperate edge in her voice; all Nora wants to do is run in headfirst, but today she learned her lesson. Barry’s words ‘take a moment, think before you act’ ring in her ears. Taking a deep breath, her surroundings still, as her thoughts run at super speed, trying to come up with a solution, to ‘fix the problem the right way’. She turns to Caitlin and Sherloque as she says “I got it. I can fix this. I’ve thought this through. I won’t mess up this time, I promise.” “Then go,” Caitlin nods at her encouragingly. Smiling, Nora speeds off to the woods, making one quick stop on her way, grabbing a fusion cell from the pipeline.

 

In the woods, Cicada has Barry in his grip. “All these years that Central City spent defending metas since inventing them… those days end now,” Cicada raises his dagger over Barry, ”starting with you.” But before Cicada can make another move, Nora comes speeding in, staying just out of reach of his dagger, drawing electricity from the speed force and throwing a lightning bolt into Cicada. While Cicada is thrown backwards, away from Barry, and lands on the ground with a loud thud, Cisco slowly gets back up, clutching his arm. “Use this!” Nora shouts as she throws the fusion cell to Cisco who catches it and turns towards Cicada. Cicada slowly gets up and Cisco swings back. “Hey Michael Myers, dampen this!” he yells as he throws the fusion cell in Cicada’s direction. But when Cicada’s dagger connects with the fusion cell, it’s sent speeding backwards in Cisco’s direction, exploding mere feet from him. The big explosion sends Barry flying back, as Cicada shields himself with the forcefield of his dagger. 

 

At Starlabs, Cisco’s vitals disappear on the screen. Frozen, Caitlin stares at the screen, her emotions unable to process the information…

Cicada walks to the center of the explosion, on the ground only Vibe’s tech is left. With one last look at the Flash, he raises his dagger and flies off.

Panting, Barry yells out for Cisco. Nothing. Running he looks everywhere, but no sign of Cisco. An agonizing pain washes over him as the realization hits him. Cisco…is…dead. 

 

This is it, the end of his best friend, the end of his world. Before he knows, what he’s doing, his feet have brought him back to Starlabs, back to Caitlin. Feeling the gush of wind brings Caitlin out of her stupor. Getting up, she faces Barry, hoping against hope, that what she knows to be true, isn’t…that Cisco isn’t really… Seeing the pain etched on Barry’s face, Caitlin breaks. Just when she thought she had clawed her way out of her pain, another loss threatens to drown her. Tears start leaking from her eyes, as Barry steps forward, holding her tight, clinging to her as she’s clinging to him. Silent sobs shaking both of their bodies.

 

Just then a breach opens in the middle of the Cortex and Cisco steps through. They both turn, not believing their eyes. “Cisco?” Caitlin whispers. He looks at them still panting. “You’re…you’re alive” Barry mumbles. As if his words make it real, Caitlin and Barry run towards their best friend, engulfing him in the biggest hug. “What?” “How?” “We thought” they stammer, only letting go of Cisco when Nora comes running in as well. 

Cisco looks at her, before turning back to Barry. “Your daughter… she remembered there is more than one way to open a breach.” holding up the breaching device. “We figured Cicada wouldn’t give up until Vibe was dead,” Nora explain, “so we… well, we gave him what he wanted.” Caitlin steps forward pulling Nora in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispers. Nora beams as Cisco thanks her as well. “You saved my life.” “I did good?” she asks turning to her dad. Barry smiles at her, giving her an approving nod. “You did great.” Before pulling her in a hug as well.

 

 

After Caitlin examined Cisco’s injuries, putting a sling around his shoulder, they all reconvene in the cortex, looking at the article of Vibe’s death, Iris has posted on her blog. “It’s almost like you’re really dead,” Iris says as a sadness hangs over the team. “Yeah”, Cisco responds, before turning away from the screen, “I almost really was.” Sighing he adds. “How the hell are we going to catch this guy?” “Not with our powers,” Nora points out sadly, “we know that at least.” “We don’t know much else, either,” Sherloque adds, “variations in the timeline… shifted the elements, complicates the equation now.” 

“Not all these elements are bad though,” Barry turns to Nora, smiling encouragingly, proud at what she accomplished today, “you can be the new element that saves us. You could be the reason we catch Cicada.” “I must admit,” Sherloque adds, “when Miss Nora here pulled the rug right from under Cicada, whooof, very impressive.” “Yeah,” Cisco smiles at her, before turning back to Sherloque,” and that’s the only fake death we’re going to see around here, cause you’re sticking around until you pay us back every cent.” “Well, I have to say, the prospect of another mystery with Cicada puts a little pep in my step,” Sherloque smiles, “so I guess I’m staying.” “I’ll be watching you, Holmes,” Cisco warns. “Well then you’ll learn a lot, good,” Sherloque pats him on the shoulder, making Cisco groan and clutch his injury. “Shall we, sidekick” Sherloque grins, as a grumbling Cisco follows him out of the cortex. “Something tells me those two are going to be just… great friends,” Barry chuckles sharing a knowing look with Caitlin. She returns his smile, before walking back to her lab.

Turning to Nora and Iris, Barry asks. “So, you guys up for a family dinner?” After a moment of awkward silence, Nora replies. “Sure.” “Yeah,” Iris adds, “and then maybe after we could help you move into the loft?” looking over at Nora, “I know you’ve been cooped up here and now that Sherloque is going to need a place to stay, I thought you could crash with us,” Iris looks at them uncertainly. Barry smiles. “I think that’s a great idea.” Seeing her father smile, Nora nods in agreement. “Okay, yeah, thanks,” before stepping into Barry’s embrace. Iris watches them, trying to hide the jealousy in her face. “Let me get my purse,” Nora mumbles before walking out of the cortex. Barry smiles at Iris. “This will be good, I think this could be just the thing to bring you two closer together.” Iris nods. “I really hope so.” Barry kisses Iris before adding. “Why don’t you go ahead, I’ll catch up with you in a moment.” Iris nods. “I’ll go check in on my dad on my way home.” Barry nods and walks away to get Cisco.

 

“Oh, hi,” Nora greets Sherloque as she enters the lounge, “I’m just looking for my purse, I’m about to have dinner with my parents.” Not facing her, holding a cup in his hands, Sherloque points out. “It’s on the chair, in the cortex, by the mannequin.” “Right, thanks,” Nora nods as Sherloque takes a sip. “Well enjoy the couch.” But as Nora starts walking away, Sherloque turns. “Nora, can you help me with something?” Nora looks at him smiling.  
“I’ve been wondering, “Sherloque goes on, “here you traveled back into all these great moments in your parents’ life, some beautiful, some dangerous, though not as dangerous as...,” here he imitates a punch, “...punching a fallen satellite, right?” Nora looks at him, her smile frozen. “And yet, that is the moment when you made the decision to act,” he slowly steps closer, ”altering the course of history forever. That decision…did you come to that on your own?” He looks at Nora intently, as she tries to form words. But before she speaks up, he laughs. “Of course, you did! Right?” Nora nods relieved. “No of course you did, you’re XS! The temptation was too much I’m sure.” “It was,” Nora nods. “Please forgive, you have a diner to go to,” Sherloque smiles, a hint of something more in his eyes, as Nora smiles too and walks away, turning back once more, worry in her eyes.

 

Iris is sitting on the couch with her father going over what happened to him. “So, this is all I could remember about Cicada, it’s not much, but…” Joe says handing her a notepad. “No, no, no,” Iris interrupts him, “this is great, I mean every little bit we get, helps to profile him. I will go over this in the morning. You should go be with Cecile right now.” Joe nods, as Iris gets up to leave. “Feel better.” “Wait,” Joe adds,” there is one more thing. He made these comments about family and cherishing them and then the way he picked up Jenna’s blanket… and I got this feeling when I looked in his eyes…” “What? What kind of feeling?” “I think Cicada’s a father” Joe finishes, the revelation heavy between them.

 

In the hospital, a young girl is lying in bed, her head bandaged, monitors attached, as a female doctor approaches her gently. She puts down her file, lifting the girl’s hand gently and taking her pulse. Sensing someone, she speaks up. “Hello, Orlan.” A man steps out of the shadows. “Any progress?” he demands. “She’s not coming out of it,” the doctor responds, putting down the girl’s arm gently. The man behind Cicada’s mask steps closer and slowly sits down on the bed.  
“Let me see it,” the doctor insists. Orlan turns his head at her, before slowly lowering his jacket with his hand, revealing a burning gash near his collarbone. “It’s not healing,” the doctor states as Cicada covers it back up. “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbles, turning his gaze back to the girl. “You can’t keep doing this,” she urges him, “you have to stop.” “No, not until I’m finished.” The doctor sighs, before taking the chart and leaving the room. Orlan kneels next to the bed, putting one hand on the forehead of the blonde girl, edging closer and gently kissing her on the forehead.

 

Together, Barry and Cisco find Caitlin alone in the med bay pouring over some papers. “You okay?” Barry wonders, ”it’s been a long emotional day.” Caitlin looks up and smiles at them, she feels like she got both of her friends back today. “I’m okay.” “Something you wanna talk about?” Cisco asks, “Barry told me that you found a letter from your dad.” Caitlin nods, “Yeah, it’s just my dad wasn’t really the letter-writing type, I feel like he would have found some other way to tell me.”  
“No luck with his work notes?” Barry asks, looking at the papers in front of her. Caitlin shakes her head. “No, these are like other models of gibberish, there’s gaps everywhere and some of these compounds don’t even exist.” “Like the compounds he let you make up?” Barry wonders slowly. “Actually, yes,” Caitlin murmurs excited, as she takes out the game she played with her father, unfolding the paper with the periodic table in front of her. “They don’t exist, because they are not supposed to,” a smile spreads across her face.

Together the three of them go over the notes, looking for the made-up elements and compounds, slowly deciphering… a message. “Caitlin come find me,” Cisco reads. Astonished they look at each other, taking in the meaning of this message, unaware that a dark figure was watching them over the security camera feed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy moly, this was way more work than I thought and so much longer than expected. I might have a new found respect for the writers, balancing out all these characters isn't easy. I feel bad having to cut some Nora and Barry scenes, though he definitely didn’t need the WA pep talk, he could have understood Nora on his own.  
> I also actually faced the writers' problem about what to do with Iris, she just wasn’t useful for any of the plot points, so I left her out, as well as Ralph. Even if I do understand the writers' problem a little better, I wasn't the one to add or (under)develop so many characters in the first place, nor am I a professional writer ;)  
> Anyway I hope you enjoyed this: ) Let me know in the comments, I always appreciate reading them :)


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